The Apache’s story begins in the early 1970s when the U.S. Army aimed to replace its aging Cobras with a next-generation attack helicopter. Hughes Helicopters answered with the Model 77; its YAH-64 prototype first lifted off on 30 September 1975 and beat Bell’s entry in 1976, earning the Army’s go-ahead.Full-rate production kicked in by 1982, and in April 1986 the AH-64 entered service. Twin turboshafts drove its two-bladed rotor and tailwheel undercarriage, while nose-mounted sensors gave crews day-night targeting capability. Underneath, the 30 mm M230 chain gun sat ready to rip into soft targets, and stub-wing pylons carried Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rockets. Built-in redundancy in hydraulics, avionics and flight controls helped it shrug off battle damage.As threats evolved, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas upgraded the design into the AH-64D Longbow, introducing a mast-mounted fire-control radar and digital systems in March 1997. That radar could spot and queue Hellfires at multiple targets in seconds, turning the Apache into a true networked hunter.From Panama in 1989 and the Gulf War in 1991 to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, Apaches spearheaded U.S. Army strikes with precision and survivability. Allies—from Britain’s AgustaWestland-built versions to Israeli, Dutch, Japanese and UAE squadrons—adopted the type, logging combat missions in Lebanon, Gaza and beyond.Today over 5 000 Apaches have been delivered to the U.S. Army and eighteen partner nations, and Boeing Defense keeps new airframes rolling out. More than forty years after that first YAH-64 flight, the Apache remains the world’s premier attack helicopter—proof that smart sensors, potent weapons and hardiness make legends of the battlefield.

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Apache Helicopter